The Days of Chihiro
by C.L. Forest
Summary: Chihiro visits Kohaku's river. Quick one-shot.


Chihiro giggled softly to herself as she felt the cool water tickle her feet and seep through her toes. After letting them adjust to the rush change of temperature, she proceeded to immerse the rest of her legs in the water until it brushed her knees. She sighed and sat on the riverbanks, ignoring the way the water soaked through her clothes.

She had been visiting the river everyday since it had been dug up from the ground, cleaned and opened to the public. The project took nearly six years, as the river was so large. After all the hardwork of the villagers and the support from the government, the river had been renewed to its original state and Chihiro could only gape at its beauty. She often wondered to herself what would possess a man to build over such a beautiful sight. The greed of humans, she supposed.

"You're late."

Chihiro turned to find the owner of the voice. Upon seeing the youthful face and lithe figure, she gave a small, carefree laugh. "My train got delayed," she said. "It's a far off journey here to Hidome."

Kohaku smiled and crouched beside her. For a while the two sat comfortably in silence, simply enjoying each other's presence. Sometimes, Chihiro would glance at him and would always find him staring at the currents with a distant look in his jade green eyes.

Chihiro felt a smile curl her lips. He hadn't seemed to change at all over the years while Chihiro had aged a plenty. Of course, while ten years could do many to a mortal, to a spirit like Kohaku, Chihiro supposed it didn't mean a thing. Chihiro could swear that she was now about a head taller than him but the more frustrating thing was that he didn't seem bothered by it at all. "I age with my river," he had said simply. "And most rivers live up to thousands of years and I suppose I'm very young by those standards."

This led to Chihiro asking the inevitable and Kohaku informing her that he was 478 years old. Chihiro gingerly made sure to avoid that topic in the future.

Eventually the silence was broken by Chihiro (as it usually was.) "Ha—ah, I mean Kohaku," she started, flushing like her younger self when she got his name wrong. "How are Lin, Kamaji and the others doing? You told me there was a bit of a dilemma with Yubaba. Are they alright?"

Kohaku looked thoughtful. "I'm not entirely sure. I haven't visited them in a while. However, I am able to say that Lin is now filing to quit her job at the Bathhouse now that she has her train tickets. Kamaji is still working in the boilers. No Face and Zeniba are faring well and Yubaba has been doing better since that last tantrum Boh threw."

Chihiro sighed in relief. "That is good to hear."

And although she did well to hide it, Kohaku noticed the slight wistfulness in her voice. He frowned. "You miss them," he said.

Chihiro sighed once more and picked up a pebble and started to thumb it. "Oh, I don't know, Haku," she said. "I want to see them again but I'm afraid that if I try, it might end up like last time. And I don't' want to leave my friends! I need to finish college and get a diploma just like I told my dad. I know the Spirit World is friendlier now than the last time I've been there but I wouldn't want to take any risks—

She caught herself and paused before finally saying, "I just wish seeing them didn't come with such a terrible price."

Kohaku searched her eyes and Chihiro, feeling his gaze, quickly looked away and focused her attention on a group of nondescript pebbles. The river god smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder in a very grown up manner (which would have probably looked odd from a far as Kohaku appeared physically ten years younger than Chihiro). "The time will come," he said.

Chihiro gave him a thankful smile before playfully nudging him on the shoulder. "Stop saying those wise old stuff, you're making me feel young."

Kohaku laughed. "But you are young."

"Not as young as you," Chihiro grinned. "If you were a human you'd be nothing more than a 12 year old. Perhaps I should start calling you Kohaku-kun?"

He pretended to look offended but he couldn't help the small smile that escaped his lips as the banter went on. Chihiro mostly carried the conversation but didn't have a hard time doing so as she swiftly jumped from one topic to another. She spoke of her new pet dog, her friends, her 10 page paper that was just waiting to be done and the Igo obsession of her best friend that was starting to grow on her. Kohaku listened intently, giving the proper responses and adding a few words of his own here and there.

"…and it really was! I looked at the picture and nearly choked. He looked _exactly _like you! I even considered going to Tokyo and finding that guy. And to think that—oh, what is it, Kohaku?"

Chihiro glanced up curiously at her friend as he abruptly got up because of something that had evidently caught his eye. "Haku?" she asked tentatively. Kohaku narrowed his eyes and a wave of relief washed over his face. He shook his head and sat back down. "It's nothing."

Chihiro raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

He smiled reassuringly in response. "It was only the wind. You were saying…?"

Chihiro blinked and hesitantly continued with her story. Soon the sky grew dark and Chihiro decided it would be best to leave.

She stooped down and kissed Kohaku on the cheek and waved him goodbye. "I'll be back tomorrow," she said with a bright smile. Just as she was about to head back to the sidewalk, she stopped in her steps and turned around.

The river god looked at her curiously. "Is there something wrong?"

Chihiro opened her mouth, wanting to ask him about the peculiar incident earlier, but then closed it, thinking better of her decision. She smiled. "Nothing. See you, Haku!"

She turned back to the cemented road that lay ahead of her. She would save that conversation for another day. After all, now that Kohaku's river was revived, she would have plenty of days to see him. This thought added a new-found skip to her pace as she walked back home.

* * *

_Author's notes:_

_I've been wanting to write a Spirited Away fanfiction for a while. This isn't particularly finished and I did my best to wrap it up. It's really just a drabble-ish sort of fic. Just a peek on what _I _think might have happened after the movie. In regards to the relationship between Kohaku and Chihiro, it isn't really romantic and as stated, I went with my instincts and made Chihiro age ten years while Haku would only look a few months older._

_Drop a review and tell me what you think!_


End file.
